1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a floor patching compound and, more specifically, a leveling component therefor, which will facilitate providing smooth concrete-type surfaces for flooring so as to facilitate providing either a smooth finished floor surface or providing a level substrate for application of other flooring or floor covering materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been known to employ various floor patching, leveling, and smoothing compounds in order to smooth uneven areas and to produce horizontal, as well as level surfaces. Such surfaces must, in many cases, be suitable for additional application thereover of floor coverings such as carpeting, tiling, plastic coverings, linoleum, parquet, wood, or other desired materials. Such vinyl floor materials are frequently secured in place by adhesives or bonding mortar. The subflooring to be leveled may be made of concrete, gypsum, anhydrite, metal, or plastic, for example. The subflooring for the floor patching and leveling compound may consist of solid material of loadbearing strength, such as metal, plastic, and cementitious and gypsum-bound concrete, mortar, and floor topping.
Leveling compounds may also be employed to provide uniform sloping surfaces where desired as by establishing a smooth transition between floors of two levels.
It has been known in floor patching, leveling and smoothing compounds to employ hydraulic binders whose binding properties are activated by admixture of the material with water. Among the known binders are portland cements, portland blast furnace slag cements, alumina cements, lime and gypsum. Also, if desired, inert fillers such as sand, chalk or other suitable materials have been employed.
It has also been known to employ in such compositions dispersion powders which are used to facilitate obtaining the desired plasticity required for processing, as well as elasticity.
Among the additives which have been known for such materials are cellulose derivatives which may be employed for obtaining water retention characteristics and to also facilitate even drying and setting of the compounds.
It has also been known to employ accelerators or retarders in combination with hydraulic binders in order to adjust the compounds to the desired working time or setting time, respectively.
In spite of the foregoing known compositions, there remains a problem in the regulation of the rheological properties of this type of compound. The prior materials tend to produce products which are neither self-leveling, nor self-flowing or stable against sedimentation, after they have been mixed with water. As these properties may be critical for successful use of the materials, additives which tend to generate either self-flowing properties such as stability, but do not affect the setting properties of the floor patching, leveling and smoothing compounds, have been employed.
Casein has been known as a material which can assist with regulation of rheological properties of such compounds. Casein, however, is a natural product and as a result may vary substantially in quality. It also can be easily degenerated by micro-organisms, thereby causing unpleasant cheese-like odor which, under certain conditions, may linger for years. As a result, many people are unwilling to employ casein for such purposes.
There remains, therefore, a very real and substantial need for an improved, flowable, floor patching compound having desired leveling properties.